As you probably already know, the newest World
of Warcraft expansion; Warlords of Draenor, will be taking away our
ability to fly. Not forever, but we will be flightless for awhile. With
that in mind, players entering into Warlords will find themselves totally
grounded, asked to walk about the world and level just like in the good
old days. The only other option available is to make use of the (time
consuming) flight paths or other public modes of transport stationed
around the world.

While this caused many players to groan in
utter dismay, Blizzard has recently assured us that things won't be so bad
after all. Could this be true? Or will players in Warlords of Draenor find
themselves trudging sullenly through the landscape, with only the prospect
of a long and tedious flight in sight? Read on to find out.

The Scenic Route

One of the major gripes about expecting
players to use only ground mounts in the next expansion is that this
forces them to make use of flight paths. These links, that span across the
world, will be the only way to move from zone to zone without walking
there. Doesnt sound so bad in theory, but flight paths have one major
glaring flaw.

You see, flight paths just aren't the speedy
transports they should be. They wander through the landscape, taking a
very slow route that sometimes doesn't even make sense. It is great if you
are out to take in the sights, but if you just want to get from point A to
point B and quickly, you are out of luck. This hasnt been really problem,
since players have had the ability to fly themselves where ever they
wanted, until now.

With Warlords of Draenor taking away our
ability to fly, at least for a little while, the prospect of using these
meandering flight paths is a gloomy one. I mean, who really wants to spend
10 minutes in flight, even if the view is stunning? No one. Thankfully,
Blizzard also decided this as a problem. To fix it, they are planning on
doing new flight paths in Warlords of Draenor a little differently:

alt="Bashiok Forum Post" />

As you can see from the blue post above,
flight paths introduced in Warlords of Draenor will not be like those we
have now. Instead of seeing the sights, flight paths will take the player
where they want to go in the fastest way possible, a blessing if I ever
heard one. Even better, beta testers can weigh in on the speed and
efficiency of flight paths, potentially making them even quicker than we
ever could have dreamed.

Land of Plenty  Flight Paths

Of course, things are rarely as simple as
that. Quickness and efficiency are not things that need to be changed in
the flight path department. As well as being speedy, there needs to be
more flight paths in the game. They also need to be in very convenient
locations.

Ground travel is to be expected, that is the
reason Blizzard has limited us from flying. No player wants to walk 5
miles, crossing a ravine filled with scorpions, to get to the nearest
flight path. Nor do they want to disembark and have to hike across half
the zone to get to their intended destination. If this stipulation is
fulfilled, combined with the promised increased speed, flight paths will
be almost perfect. Who doesn't like to hop on and not have to worry about
anything, all while they are whisked safely to their destination.

alt="Kalimdor Flight Map" />

Being Grounded Isn't So Bad

I, personally, feel that the removal of flying
is an excellent choice. Even if the flights were long and drawn out, I
would still stand by this. Flying is a great way to get about, but you
miss out on so much in the process. With Warlords of Draenor promising to
host tons of things to discover, it would be a shame to simply fly over it
all.

With all that being said, no one wants to walk
from zone to zone. It takes a long time and you end up facing off with any
creatures or players that happen to attack you along the way. Blizzard of
course plans to remedy at least half of this problem. If they remedy the
other half I will gladly rush to flight paths, with even more enthusiasm
than a kid running into a candy store. So let us cross our
fingers and hope that the flight paths in Warlords will be something we
love, rather than loathe. We can also hope that in the future these
changes will be applied to all flight paths in the game. Do you think the
revamp of Warlords of Draenor flight paths will make you feel better about
using them? What other changes would you like to see made? Share your
thoughts with us in the comments section below.

To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our
World of Warcraft
Game Page.

About The Author

Amunet, also fondly known as Memtron, is an organic life form best known for its ongoing obsession with Blizzard Entertainment's numerous properties. To that end, Amu has authored hundreds (thousands?) of the most popular World of Warcraft guides, editorials, and Top 10 lists on the planet. When not gaming and writing, Amu is busy chasing after her three children in a perpetual loop of ongoing disaster.